Disputes & Recovery Intelligence
A legal position may be clear while the factual record remains incomplete or the route to recovery uncertain. Periplus reconstructs conduct, tests competing accounts and assesses the conditions affecting enforcement and settlement. The work supports counsel and clients in commercial and investor-State disputes, as well as boundary and treaty matters.
Scope of work
Factual reconstruction
Reconstructing events across institutions and jurisdictions; identifying witnesses and records; and testing the accounts on which a claim or defence depends. Collection examines evidence that may support, qualify or contradict the proposed account.
Collectability and asset tracing
Assessing recovery prospects before a claim is acquired, funded or pursued, and as the matter develops. The work traces assets and examines ownership, control and evidence of commercial use to inform counsel's assessment of potential enforcement routes.
Sovereign conduct and attribution
Establishing who initiated or implemented a measure, how instructions moved between institutions, and the part played by state enterprises or other actors. The factual work informs counsel's assessment of attribution and State responsibility.
Sovereign debt and restructuring
Government priorities, institutional authority and the interests affecting a restructuring or settlement. Collection examines the practical conditions under which an undertaking may be agreed and performed.
Negotiation and mediation support
Independent assessment of the parties' incentives, political constraints and authority to agree, including differences between public positions and private assessments. Findings inform negotiation and mediation strategy and the assessment of a settlement's durability.
Form of instruction
Outputs may include factual chronologies and corroboration notes for legal teams, collectability assessments, or confidential briefings for strategy and settlement. Expert reports and testimony are separately instructed.
Intended use is agreed before collection begins. Intelligence for strategy is distinguished from material developed for possible evidential use, with provenance, source permissions and contact arrangements addressed with the legal team. Counsel-directed assignments are structured to preserve any applicable privilege.
Selected mandates
These examples draw on the experience behind Periplus, including engagements predating the firm’s establishment.
Reconstruction for legal teams of how infrastructure concessions had been secured across several jurisdictions, producing material structured for use in proceedings.
Banking Litigation ReconstructionPre-trial examination of a key witness's background and affiliations, informing counsel's assessment of the account and preparation for cross-examination.
Maritime Asset RecoveryInvestigation of concealed oil shipments and discrepancies in cargo records, supporting lawyers pursuing asset recovery and examining potential fraudulent transfers.
Mining Capital TracingTracing the origins and movement of capital behind an investment fund and its mining interests, supporting lawyers pursuing recovery proceedings.
Pipeline Transit and RecoveryAssessment of control over an oil export corridor and its proceeds, identifying potential recovery routes through transit arrangements and offshore offtake.